Roland Garros 2013 – Takeaways from France

3) Ferrer has seen his first and possibly last Grand Slam final

I’m not discrediting the effort of David Ferrer this past fortnight, not by a long shot – he was, for lack of a better word, supreme till the final. But when Andy Murray announced his withdrawal from the French Open, it threw the dynamics of the draw way off. And Ferrer, as it turns out, was the biggest beneficiary. Coupled with a soft (relatively, of course!) draw, Federer’s burnout in the quarters, and Djokovic and Nadal in the other half, suddenly it became Ferrer’s best chance to reach his first Grand Slam final. He still had to beat what was in front of him and he did with aplomb. In the final, as was expected, he ran into an irresistible force and immovable object rolled into one, in Rafa. Strangely enough, it now moves Ferrer back up to No. 4 in the world, and Rafa demoted to No. 5. But Rafa will take that back easily, given that he now has virtually no points to defend through to next year’s Australian Open. He may even be World No. 1 by the time this year is done. Novak Djokovic better start adjusting his rearview mirror!